The floating lock mount for a seat belt retractor, as herein described, answers a long felt need to provide means to allow adjustment of a vehicle seat in fore and aft directions without seriously altering the lead-out of webbing across and over the user. Most requirements advise that the seat belt anchor points should directly transmit stresses into the floor and frame of the vehicle and not into the seats. If the retractor is attached to the seat, then the problem of movement of the seat dissolves. However, then, the stresses require expensive modification of the seat structure and must be anchored to satisfy the transmission of emergency stresses into the vehicle body and frame. Where requirements provide that the vehicle frame receive the stresses in an accident which locks up the seat belt restraints, then the question becomes one of how to do this without causing twisting, misalignment and improperly guided webbing over the body of the user.
Seats themselves do adjust and the U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,422 to Herbert Krause is illustrative of a seat frame secured to the vehicle floor and with an operating lever selectively moving operating latches in a slider track and engaging a carriage to which a seat frame is secured. To this structure it was intended that seat belts may be attached but there is no suggestion of a functioning retractor movable on the track.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,101 to Peter Hess, a seat adjustment is shown which includes an inertia responsive lock for the seat. It does not suggest the inclusion of a seat connected retractor riding in a retractor cooperating track.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,962 to Joseph J. Magyar, the seat construction includes a retractor but the retractor does not move in a track, nor does it serve a lap or shoulder belt. In the Magyar device, the short belt acts as an anchor extension from the floor so that the seat can move and the single position anchor to the floor is retained.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,539 to Kenneth R. Johnson, in a bench type seat, retractors are provided in the base of the seat frame but these, in turn, are anchored to the vehicle frame so as to offer no suggestion of a retractor changing position in a track with seat movement.
In the present invention, a track structure is provided which is generally parallel to the seat mounting track and is fastened to the vehicle floor or frame which allows a seat connected retractor to float backward, forward and up and down with adjusting movement of the seat. The main objective of such a structure is to approximate a constant relationship as between the occupant of the seat and the belt system components for consistent performance irrespective of size of seat occupant or position of the seat. The function of the retractor is not modified by the movement of the seat. Accordingly, the mounting of the present invention is useful with a wide range of retractor types, including the newer dual spool retractor systems as seen in passive restraints and in separate lap and shoulder belt combinations. The constant relationship of retractor to wearer is achieved by attaching a retractor to the seat and permitting the retractor to float back and forth on the track and to elevationally adjust on the track with seat movement so long as there is no locking of the retractor in an emergency as occurs by webbing withdrawal force upon sudden braking, deceleration or the shock of an impact of vehicle with a separate structure.
A benefit of the present invention is that a structural seat is not required since the loading of the seat belt, as occurs in an emergency, is transmitted into the floor of the vehicle via the connection of the track or channel element to the floor or vehicle frame. The retractor is thereby free to shift or float as foreward or aft adjustment of the seat occurs, and as elevation changes occur with the seat movement. However, when an emergency deceleration is experienced, this results in an upward loading of the webbing of the retractor overcoming the bias toward the free running condition of the retractor in the track. As this force is applied to the retractor, the retractor mount locks against any movement of the retractor in the track and the simplicity of the mechanism is appreciated by the fact that a lock pin or pawl on the retractor mount tilts with the tilting of the retractor into engagement with teeth provided on the track. The amount of force causing the pin or pawl to lock in the track is relatively small, simply enough to overcome the normal bias holding the lock pin away from the teeth. This is maintained at a minimum because there is no significant upward force on the retractor until the emergency stop situation and this assures quiet and free movement of the retractor on the track with movement of the seat.
Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a seat attached retractor mount which normally freely floats in a track generally paralleling the fore and aft movement of a vehicle seat so as to maintain a constant webbing to user relationship.
Another object is to provide for elevational variations between seat and track during movement of the seat and retractor.
Another object is to provide a track mount structure for attachment to the floor and/or frame of an automobile on which a seat belt retractor can freely move in a fore and aft direction and which incorporates lock means cooperating with the forces on the retractor for prevention of movement in emergency decelerating situations.
Other objects, including economy, simplicity and adaptability on a variety of types of retractors and vehicles will be appreciated as the description proceeds.